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Antitrust Divi­sion

The Attorney General of Texas is charged with investigating and prosecuting violations of the Texas Free Enterprise and Antitrust Act or of the federal antitrust statutes which prohibit anticompetitive conduct. If antitrust violations are detected, the Antitrust Division can file suit in federal or state court. The OAG can represent the state as well as state agencies and other political subdivisions in these legal actions and, although the attorney general cannot represent individual consumers directly, many of our settlements provide restitution for individual consumers.

Conduct that may be investigated by the agency includes exclusionary behavior by a monopolist and competitor conspiracies, such as price fixing, bidrigging and territorial or customer allocation. In addition, the division reviews mergers to determine if a proposed combination may substantially lessen competition. Investigations can be local, regional or national in scope and often are joint investigations with either the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice and/or one or more state attorneys general.

If you are a business or a consumer who believes a person or business has engaged in anticompetitive behavior, please contact the Texas Attorney General's Antitrust Division at (512) 463-1713. Please understand that we are prohibited by law from providing legal representation, legal counsel, interpretation or explanations of the law to private individuals and organizations.

For Public Purchasers

Detection and prosecution of antitrust violations involving bids to public entities is an important focus of the division. The Office of the Attorney General provides outreach presentations to assist public purchasers in recognizing potential bidrigging schemes and other antitrust violations. If you are interested in this presentation, which has been approved for continuing education certification hours, contact the division at (512) 463-1265 to schedule.

Sample Antitrust Assignment Clause for Public Contracts:
Vendor hereby assigns to the [Purchaser] all of Vendor's rights, title and interest in and to all claims and causes of action Vendor may have under the antitrust laws of Texas or the United States for overcharges associated with this contract.